ElQuia wrote:Guys, I think it is a BIG MISTAKE bypassing LXDE. It is NOT a question of disk space, or whatever. It is having a LEAN, MEAN machine, EVEN if I had an 8core machine with TONS of RAM, WHY SHOULD I use a desktop that is a resource hog or a non proved one like cinnamon? or a regression like mate?

NO WAY, LXDE is cool.

Please? Mint 13 LXDE?

+1.100% agree with this thought. Try typing free -m in a terminal after boot-up. LXDE wins every time. Please re-consider.

That's bad news, I like Mint LXDE. Still, you can always install LXDE desktop on top of one of the other editions. That's what I do with Mageia. I have KDE, Xfce and LXDE installed and log into whichever one I feel like using for that session. Long live choice!

I did all my proof of concept for switching to Mint using the LXDE edition on a netbook and was very impressed. I now am using a full fledged laptop to run Mint 12, but I stuck with LXDE because it is lean and clean. While I have no problem eventually installing LXDE over another edition and moving on, the folks that I am trying to convince to switch to Mint aren't often that savvy and often have limited resource hardware (think seminary students, churches and other non-profits who often inherit older stuff). I can appreciate that the Mint team needed to make a prioritization decision and I'll eventually get on board, but a big raspberry is being blown in their direction. LXDE seems to be a gem.

Mint 12 LXDE and Mint 9 LXDE end of life (EOL) is in April 2013 so you can continue to run Mint with LXDE for a few more months. The system should be usable after EOL but will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes and the repositories may eventually move or close.

There are alternatives, use XFCE instead of LXDE, install LXDE on top of another edition, make a community Mint 13 LXDE edition or move to another LXDE or light distro.

Moving from LXDE to XFCE it's not much work and LMDE XFCE is light, not as much as LXDE but close. When I tested Mint 12 LXDE against LMDE XFCE to make a more complete RAM tuning guide in PDF format I was surprised by how light XFCE can be if properly implemented. Another option is Mint 13 XFCE LTS, it's slower and heavier than LMDE XFCE but is based on Ubuntu instead of Debian and has support until 2017.

Another option is Installing LXDE on top of another Mint edition. It's probably the best option if you have the time to configure LXDE to your liking. If you like, make a howto and share with the community.

Moving away from Mint is also a option. Lubuntu 12.04 is a very good option, you only need to make it look and feel more like Mint and the beta 1 for Lubuntu 12.10 is only 6 weeks away. Debian 6 LXDE or Debian testing LXDE is another option and if moving away from LXDE is not a problem you can try Bodhi (E17), Crunchbang (Openbox) or AntiX (IceWM/Fluxbox/etc). There are many Ubuntu/Debian based light distros.

The best option for the community would be if the users that want to keep Mint LXDE alive could come together and build the Mint 13 LXDE Community Edition. It's more work but could be fun. Anyone interested?

Yes, I am running Peppermint Three right now. I can second the recommendation for LXDE on PeppermintOS. I've used every version since Kendall and Shane's project started. It's never disappointed me yet.

Lubuntu not being LTS means 'the underlinig base system (Ubuntu) you probably will be getting the security fixes ect for the full 5 years (same repos mostly)(but not all and some things pinned ect in their Mirrors)ButThe fixes that Lubuntu does (patches, and other LXDE tweaks and such) won't be done after 18 months (they may but not likely).

So anything that comes along (frum Ubuntu LTS commitments or upstream bugs, probably won't get fixed after the 18 months.

J.Jay

P.S. waiting on 'Peppermint 3' (not sure whats going to be included thou) only thing I read release will be July 23 (they're very mum on it) It is a LXDE (Mostly) distro with (at least 2 does) the mint tools and such. My favorite on old TC1100 tablet.

In the FWIW department, I just tried Peppermint 3 then installed Lubuntu 12.04 over it and Lubuntu works much better. It's faster, looks better, and the apps installed make more sense, to me anyway. I'm not a big "cloud" guy.

I'll have to give Lubuntu 12.04 a try. I remember not caring for it in an earlier version, but I've heard elsewhere, too, that it has improved. I don't care what applications come with a distro, because I always install what I prefer to use anyhow. I do like fast and light, though, and if Lubuntu's faster than Peppermint, that would be very, very fast. I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the recommendation, oboedad55.

I installed Lubuntu 12.04 yesterday afternoon and spent several hours setting up and using it. It is as good as Peppermint Three, almost. In both distros, video and sound worked instantly. Once I had Lubuntu the way I wanted, having installed the same applications, wallpaper and themes, changed font sizes, and so forth, they look exactly the same, naturally. I installed xcompmgr to accommodate a small cairo-dock and desktop clock I like on the right to both systems. The left dock is also identical in terms of what stuff I use most. I'm not designing apartment buildings or making music videos, so it's nothing very complicated or weight-bearing.

Both Lubuntu 12.04 and Peppermint Three move quickly and smoothly, as expected from LXDE. Both pull similarly low CPU and RAM resources. However, I disagree with oboedad55 in a small way on one point. Last night I rebooted into Peppermint Three to see how it felt on the heels of Lubuntu 12.04. On starting up, shutting down and in between, Peppermint Three, at least on my computer, is noticeably faster. But Lubuntu 12.04 is really very good and if PeppermintOS didn't exist, or disappeared, God forbid, I would have no hesitation turning to Lubuntu 12.04 in its place.

nunol wrote:The best option for the community would be if the users that want to keep Mint LXDE alive could come together and build the Mint 13 LXDE Community Edition. It's more work but could be fun. Anyone interested?

I would be interested Nunol. Have you participated in a community edition before? I have not. I am willing to work with someone who has though.

Anyone with experience interested? I would love to be shown the ropes of how to do it.

Currently I've only been installing 13 cinnamon, then installing LXDE on top, then deleting cinnamon. So far it's worked swimmingly and can write up a how to if the community desires.

nunol wrote:The best option for the community would be if the users that want to keep Mint LXDE alive could come together and build the Mint 13 LXDE Community Edition. It's more work but could be fun. Anyone interested?

When I next update my netbook, I will either choose to install lubuntu or a mint version and then change to lxde. If I choose the latter, which is the best base mint install for a low resource computer (see details below)?

Someone here (Seppalta perhaps) has tried to install LXDE over the MATE version and had a few minor issues.

I have installed LXDE over the cinnamon version and it has been working fine. I even went as far as to uninstall cinnamon and it works without ill effects. It left some gnome things behind but that was fine for me. Personally I prefer nautilus to PCManFM in most cases.

Would the LXDE fans among us like me to post a tutorial on how to do this step by step?